The TV movie based on Lisa Kleypas' Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor, Christmas With Holly, is on this Sunday night at 9 eastern time. Will you be watching? I enjoyed the book, so I will, but I'm also a bit wary as these movies based on romances rarely turn out well from what I've seen in the past. It's also going to be competing with the rebroadcast of Downton Abbey season two on PBS (at least where I live) and, depending on who's playing, Sunday Night Footall . _________________Later that night, still 1789!
~"Start the Revolution Without Me!"

I plan to watch but I am totally not expecting to like it as much as the book. The hero looks way younger than I pictured Mark in my head, though I guess that's just because I'm getting older and think 25 year olds are babies now.
_________________Manda Collins

I plan to watch but I am totally not expecting to like it as much as the book. The hero looks way younger than I pictured Mark in my head, though I guess that's just because I'm getting older and think 25 year olds are babies now.

It's not just that he looks younger, he is younger. As far as I remember, Mark was in his 30s in the book. He is about 25 in this, and he's the youngest of the brothers. I'm not really sure why that change was made. Maggie being dumped at the altar instead of widowed I get. It would be a lot to take in coupled with Holly's dead mom in the course of a TV movie.

It's not just that he looks younger, he is younger. As far as I remember, Mark was in his 30s in the book. He is about 25 in this, and he's the youngest of the brothers. I'm not really sure why that change was made.

Ahhh! I thought I'd just misremembered his age from the book. That makes me feel somewhat better._________________Manda Collins

It mystifies me why certain romances are made into movies. It seems so random, although granted this one has a Christmas theme. I guess these authors have particularly good reps who farm their material out to producers. Still, most of these books don't seem to be "the best" of the genre. After all of these years of this board's group of readers -- and others around the net -- selecting their favorite romances, I can't remember any of them ever being made into a movie. The rare exception is the Outlander miniseries being developed, if it, indeed, makes it to the screen.

It mystifies me why certain romances are made into movies. It seems so random, although granted this one has a Christmas theme. I guess these authors have particularly good reps who farm their material out to producers. Still, most of these books don't seem to be "the best" of the genre. After all of these years of this board's group of readers -- and others around the net -- selecting their favorite romances, I can't remember any of them ever being made into a movie. The rare exception is the Outlander miniseries being developed, if it, indeed, makes it to the screen.

Call me cynical, but my guess is because:

1. as you said, it's a Christmas themed story
2. it was more novella then novel and so might work better for the length of a tv movie
3. it's got that "heartwarming" thing going for it
4. it's got a kid in it

One might think that perhaps Ms Kleypas wrote it with a tv movie in mind. I don't know why the books chosen to be made as tv movies are always the more mediocre ones. Perhaps those are the ones that sell. The uncomplicated, unnuanced, non-controversial books. Can you imagine anyone in Hollywood making a film of Flowers From the Storm or Private Arrangements? Though given the popularity of Downton Abby, Sherry Thomas' books would seem the perfect material for movies._________________Later that night, still 1789!
~"Start the Revolution Without Me!"

Can you imagine anyone in Hollywood making a film of Flowers From the Storm or Private Arrangements? Though given the popularity of Downton Abby, Sherry Thomas' books would seem the perfect material for movies.

I would love that, but I don't expect it. Period movies are especially expensive to film due to all the work that goes into sets and costumes, and they are rarely blockbusters at the box office. Therefore for them to be made the screenplay usually has to be based on a classic with a long track record and appeal to the art house crowd as well as to other moviegoers. That's a big part of why we're more likely to see movies of Pride and Prejudice or Anna Karenina than historical romances. Contemporaries and urban fantasies have a better shot at being adapted to the screen._________________I also post elsewhere as Janine or Janine Ballard

I have to be honest...I will be recording this movie. That way I can fast forward through the commercials.

I also want to see the reviews on how much they change the movie from the book.

On Sunday night we have football on in our house, just looked up who is playing Sunday night -- Lions vs Packers....football for sure. My husband is a Packer fan.

Same here. Ditto about skipping the commercials, too.

Also, I cannot understand why Hollywood feels compelled to change the storyline of this relatively simple, straightforward romance or present the H as so much younger than in the book. But what do I know? I'm only a reader/viewer.

It mystifies me why certain romances are made into movies. It seems so random, although granted this one has a Christmas theme. I guess these authors have particularly good reps who farm their material out to producers. Still, most of these books don't seem to be "the best" of the genre.

The funny thing is that I remember reading the description of "Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor" and thinking, "Wow, this sounds like the book version of a Hallmark Christmas movie."

Looks like I wasn't the only one who thought so.

A lot of movies have been made out of Nora Roberts' works and it seems as though Kleypas very consciously modeled her latest series on the Roberts' formula. So it wasn't surprising to me that Hallmark or Lifetime would be interested in Kleypas's latest series.